We've spayed or neutered our pets in the past so I'm no stranger to this.
I just made an appointment to have our German Shepherd mama spayed for next week. She'll be staying overnight which is weird to me because with past pets they only kept them for a few hours and were released later the same day. But all the details the nurse who answered the phone gave me about shots freaked me out. she said that even though the shelter we got her from would pay for the procedure there would be two shots they wouldn't cover: a shot to wake her up and another to help her breath as she's coming out of it.
Regardless of my fears she's still getting fixed, I can't help worrying "What if she dies while in surgery?" I don't want to lose another dog.

I'm sure she'll be fine! I was a nervous wreck when my cat got spayed. One reason that I really appreciated my other cat and dogs coming from rescues that had already spayed/neutered them.

Rachel - I understand your worries but that is all very normal - my dog stayed overnight and our vet explained the 2 shots so we would understand why there were given.


Mama will be fine!

Must be the hormones. I feel like I'm giving her the death sentence and dreading the days leading up to that day. LOL
I'm sure I'll be crying when I have to turn her over to them. And I know I'll be calling to find out how she was after the surgery.....I did this with my other cats and dog. LOL

It is a bit weird that they're keeping her over night - but the shots are totally normal. The injection to reverse the anesthesia is absolutely routine. I even got it when I had my wisdom teeth removed - no big deal at all. The shot to help her breathe doesn't make sense to me though - I wonder if they mean to calm her down as she's coming out of the anesthesia? I recently worked at a vet clinic/ER and we almost always gave dogs a super light sedative just so they don't panic when they wake up, and they can stay calmer while they're remembering where they're at.

She'll do great! I'm sure she's in very good hands If they want to keep her over night - it just means there are that many more eyes on her to keep her safe!

As far as the breathing, my only guess the same kind stuff they put under the tongue of lethargic newborn pups to get them to breath (and people too??)..could be the same drug just as a shot. Also I know with humans at least, when you go under for major surgery, you - don't - breath on your own. So my guess is when the shot is to kick start this process when they are brought out of the anesthesia.

Anyways - this might sound bad or something, maybe I am just not as informed, but I didn't worry much at all when our pets were spayed/neutered. I was actually excited for them because as a kid we had 14 barn/shed cats at one point (maybe more..) because of the consequences of not having it done. It bothered me and when I finally talked my mom into having the cats done I was very excited about it more than anything. Your mama will do great I'm certain

I can understand your concern.. we have 3 boxers, one female two males. One was neutered before we got him because he is a rescue. The other two we took in for the surgery. I was more worried about the female because a spay is more invasive (sp?) than a neuter. But both were fine and no trouble at all!

Its been so long since their surgeries I can't remember if either of them were kept overnight. But don't worry, She will be ok!

I'm all for spaying and neutering, due to our economy situation (we live in the country side) there've been people who have dumped dogs in our property or even in our yards. The last one was at my neighbors house, they tied him to a post and left a bag of food for him.
I just don't like the thought of surgery period, be it humans or animals. I know it can be a life saving thing but I've heard many stories where its gone wrong. I remember stories where a dog died from getting spayed...she never woke up. So everytime I've taken my pet to be spayed or neutered I worry.
My mom's chihuahua was spayed and continued to have a period. She questioned the vet that did it and they were annoyed that she would ask such a thing. I told her to take her dog to the vet I trusted. They did an x-ray and found out the pervious vet had left an ovary so the dog had to have a second surgery.

I understand that you're scared, but pyometra and reproductive cancer are much bigger dangers than a routine spay.

I'm sure your pup will be fine I had my cat Callie spayed over 8 years ago, and my little feral kitten about 1 year ago and both stayed overnight at the vet. I just assumed every vet kept them overnight!

I took her in this morning, I couldn't stop myself....I called and they said she was out of surgery she's awake and doing fine.
her pup just started howling a half hour ago. We're thinking of bringing her in so she doesn't feel so lonely. Poor baby.